James O'Brien

Hockey Daily Dose

Sidney's sensational start

OK, I know that many people in the hockey-loving world (at least those residing in the hardcore regions) grow tired of Sidney Crosby-related bits after someone utters the first syllable of his first name but … wow. As I mentioned in the Monday Daily Dose, for all of the eye-rolling that takes place in Crosby’s name, the “kid” does as much to justify the hype as a hockey player can in 2011.

(One can only imagine the kind of havoc Crosby or a physical specimen such as Alex Ovechkin would wreak if they played in the ‘80s, although most of the havoc would stem from their ability to bend time and space. )

Anyway, Crosby made his risk-taking fantasy owners happy for one night as he scored four points (two goals, two assists) and racked up great peripheral stats: eight shots on goal, a +3 rating and 14 faceoff wins. Sure it was against green-as-can-be goalie Anders Nilsson and the lowly New York Islanders, but those are still eye-popping numbers.

Some might cringe as I throw out this disclaimer, but hopefully he remains healthy for the rest of this season. One amazing game back doesn’t guarantee that he’ll be symptom-free forever and concussion victims tend to be more prone to future problems than those with clean slates. Let’s not forget that Crosby’s hard-driving style can generate other nagging injuries (there might be a few owners who are still smarting from his high-ankle sprain from a few years ago), too.

Still, that game was pure bliss, and with Alex Ovechkin fading from his former no-brainer No. 1 pick status, Crosby might be the Adrian Peterson of fantasy hockey for years to come.

That Nov. 21 performance was all about Crosby, but how did his passengers fare? Dupuis delivered a great night: three assists and a +3 rating. Kunitz somehow went without a point during that explosive game, but he earned a +3 rating, 2 PIM and three shots on goal. Both are decent depth options - for now.

Of course, fantasy owners must have been frothing at the mouth late in the third period, as Crosby skated at least one even strength shift with Evgeni Malkin and James Neal. It’s likely that Pittsburgh will opt to diversify its scoring attack by splitting up at least one of those three most of the time, but can you imagine the terror opponents would feel while clinging to a one-goal lead with that trio shooting for the tying tally? Yikes.

VERSTEEG!

Who would have thought that the Toronto Maple Leafs employed three of the top four scorers in the NHL last season? Obviously Phil Kessel tops the list - which is surprising enough - but Kris Versteeg and Joffrey Lupul are tied for third overall with 25 points. Naturally, Versteeg isn’t on the team anymore, but it’s stunning that such a much-maligned trio of right-handed shooters has produced like this.

Versteeg notched two tallies and a helper as the Florida Panthers stunned their former coach Peter DeBoer with a 3-0 comeback. It’s pretty hard to deny that Kevin Dineen is making some magic under the sun so far. You won’t find Versteeg in many free agent piles, but Tomas Flesichmann and Stephen Weiss could very well be worth your time. (Jose Theodore is still around in a lot of leagues, too, by the way.)

After the jump: Alexander Semin's benching, hope for Columbus/Carolina and more ...

OK, I know that many people in the hockey-loving world (at least those residing in the hardcore regions) grow tired of Sidney Crosby-related bits after someone utters the first syllable of his first name but … wow. As I mentioned in the Monday Daily Dose, for all of the eye-rolling that takes place in Crosby’s name, the “kid” does as much to justify the hype as a hockey player can in 2011.

(One can only imagine the kind of havoc Crosby or a physical specimen such as Alex Ovechkin would wreak if they played in the ‘80s, although most of the havoc would stem from their ability to bend time and space. )

Anyway, Crosby made his risk-taking fantasy owners happy for one night as he scored four points (two goals, two assists) and racked up great peripheral stats: eight shots on goal, a +3 rating and 14 faceoff wins. Sure it was against green-as-can-be goalie Anders Nilsson and the lowly New York Islanders, but those are still eye-popping numbers.

Some might cringe as I throw out this disclaimer, but hopefully he remains healthy for the rest of this season. One amazing game back doesn’t guarantee that he’ll be symptom-free forever and concussion victims tend to be more prone to future problems than those with clean slates. Let’s not forget that Crosby’s hard-driving style can generate other nagging injuries (there might be a few owners who are still smarting from his high-ankle sprain from a few years ago), too.

Still, that game was pure bliss, and with Alex Ovechkin fading from his former no-brainer No. 1 pick status, Crosby might be the Adrian Peterson of fantasy hockey for years to come.

That Nov. 21 performance was all about Crosby, but how did his passengers fare? Dupuis delivered a great night: three assists and a +3 rating. Kunitz somehow went without a point during that explosive game, but he earned a +3 rating, 2 PIM and three shots on goal. Both are decent depth options - for now.

Of course, fantasy owners must have been frothing at the mouth late in the third period, as Crosby skated at least one even strength shift with Evgeni Malkin and James Neal. It’s likely that Pittsburgh will opt to diversify its scoring attack by splitting up at least one of those three most of the time, but can you imagine the terror opponents would feel while clinging to a one-goal lead with that trio shooting for the tying tally? Yikes.

VERSTEEG!

Who would have thought that the Toronto Maple Leafs employed three of the top four scorers in the NHL last season? Obviously Phil Kessel tops the list - which is surprising enough - but Kris Versteeg and Joffrey Lupul are tied for third overall with 25 points. Naturally, Versteeg isn’t on the team anymore, but it’s stunning that such a much-maligned trio of right-handed shooters has produced like this.

Versteeg notched two tallies and a helper as the Florida Panthers stunned their former coach Peter DeBoer with a 3-0 comeback. It’s pretty hard to deny that Kevin Dineen is making some magic under the sun so far. You won’t find Versteeg in many free agent piles, but Tomas Flesichmann and Stephen Weiss could very well be worth your time. (Jose Theodore is still around in a lot of leagues, too, by the way.)

After the jump: Alexander Semin's benching, hope for Columbus/Carolina and more ...

SEMIN OUT

It’s almost as if Alexander Semin decided that he needed to disenfranchise the last group of people who loved his game this season: fantasy hockey owners. Sure, his injury-prone nature makes him an annual headache, but his solid PIMs and elite scoring make him a great find at the wing position.

Well, they made him a great find. He’s been a real slouch this year, though, and those PIMs are haunting him too. Bruce Boudreau benched him on Monday night and the Washington Capitals found a way to win a close game. (That’s not good.)

His trade value is likely at an all-time low, but maybe this embarrassing moment will motivate him in ways that a contract year apparently cannot.

PROSPAL PROSPERS

If you eliminate trades (thus taking guys like Brian Campbell and Versteeg out of the picture), then Vinny Prospal has a serious case for “best pickup of the summer.” At least if you factor in the element of surprise.

He’s currently the Columbus Blue Jackets’ top point producer with a stunning 18 points in 20 games and Prospal is available in a healthy number of fantasy leagues. He’s listed at center/left-wing in at least one pool, so even if his success is surprising, he’s easily worth a test run.

SANFORD AND CARTER:NOW GOOD FOR MORE THAN JUST SITCOM PUNS

Curtis Sanford has been the Blue Jackets’ starter for three consecutive games and they’ve gone 2-0-1 as a result. It’s a really interesting situation in Columbus, because the smart money is that this is the definition of a “flash in the pan” scenario, but it feels like he has at least a shot of maintaining this for a little while.

I say that because, frankly, Steve Mason has been terrible (and could be struggling with some kind of “head” injury) and Mark Dekanich is also injured again. So if nothing else, he’ll get some reps, although it’s reasonable to be skeptical about his chances of maintaining this pace. Still, I hear that the Blue Jackets sound guy plays the theme song for “Sanford and Son” when he makes big saves. If that’s not good for team morale and his overall chances, then I don’t want to be right.

(In a nutshell: keep him on your watch list, at the minimum.)

The best news for owners of Blue Jackets players might have been Jeff Carter’s night, though, as he scored two goals against the Calgary Flames. Perhaps Crosby isn’t the only high-end pick who is starting to pay off after struggling with health problems, eh?

WARD SHOWING SOME LIFE?

Speaking of struggling teams who’ve won two games in a row and reside in cities that start with the letter “C,”* the Carolina Hurricanes are getting a little scrappy too.

The most promising sign is the improved work from Cam Ward, who has allowed just four goals during a two-game winning streak. He put up good numbers in each contest, so maybe the franchise goalie will start doing more for fantasy owners? It seems like most have been patient with him this season, but Carolina’s defense makes me think that his ceiling is still at the “medium” level.

* - That went a little far, didn’t it?

QUICK HITS

The Dallas Stars ended their losing streak with goals for Michael Ryder and Steve Ott - two guys who are OK depth options. (As I’ve said and Corey Abbott said, Ott is a great pickup because of the variety of stats he fills up.) … The Edmonton Oilers continue to slip back to reality, but don’t blame Nikolai Khabibulin. He played well in the last two games, but maybe teams are finally exposing a defense that is bad on paper.